An exquisite corpse is a collection of written, visual, or auditory art created by people who are unaware of the other artists’ contributions. When the individual contributions are combined, the result is frequently bizarre and surreal. Many writing and art classes use exquisite corpse exercises to encourage students to think in new ways, and professional artists occasionally collaborate on exquisite corpse projects.
Given the fact that an exquisite corpse is frequently surreal by the time it is completed, it should come as no surprise that this art form was created by the Surrealists, a group known for undertaking bizarre art projects. The rotating cadaver, as it’s also known, was invented in 1925 by a group of Surrealists who were allegedly bored at a dinner party. It’s based on an older parlor game.
Contributors in a typical exquisite corpse work in order, with each seeing a small portion of the contribution directly before his or hers. For example, in a written exquisite corpse, writers write a section and then fold the paper down so that only the last line is visible before passing it on to the next author, who does the same before passing it on, and so on. Visual written corpses may be folded or otherwise obscured, with only the bottom lines of the most recent contribution visible, whereas composers see the last line of music produced in a musical exquisite corpse.
An exquisite corpse may have an oddly logical sense of flow, implying that the collaborators were extremely in tune with one another while working on the project. In some cases, each new contributor takes the exquisite corpse in a completely different direction, resulting in wildly divergent work.
It only takes two or more people and a medium in which everyone involved is at ease to create an exquisite corpse. Such projects can be interesting and entertaining, especially if several projects are started at the same time and passed around, allowing everyone to work on something at any given time. Exquisite corpses don’t have to be limited to visual art, writing, film, or music; they could be a corpse sculpture, a knitting project, or anything else that comes to mind.